1. Field
The present application relates to gait analysis in animals. More specifically, the present application is directed to a system and a method of detecting and quantifying lameness in animals. The system and method also enable the display of detected and quantified lameness on various computing devices and smart devices to facilitate understanding by clinicians, as well as lay people (owners).
2. Brief Discussion of Related Art
Gait analysis is a term that is broadly used in evaluating mobility in humans and animals, and can refer to systems that typically look at a limited number of measures in evaluating such mobility. For example, a system that measures pressure in a shoe for a human can refer to gait analysis at one end of the spectrum, while a system that uses three-dimensional (3D) video with markers to record and measure kinematics can also refer to gait analysis at the other end of the spectrum.
Systems that imbed sensors in treadmills for use with human subjects have been around for many years, generally focusing on location data in order to determine foot placement of the human subjects. In recent years, these systems have also been combined with projection systems that show where the subjects should place their feet, in order to determine how well the subjects completed this task. The foregoing systems are useful in human rehabilitation.
However, the aforementioned systems that are directed to the evaluation of foot placement in humans are not very useful to the evaluation of lameness in four-legged animals, e.g., dogs. Evaluation of lameness in animals requires specific animal-related measurements including, among other measurements, the pressure that these animals put on their paws, placement position of the paws at one or more specific points during a gait cycle, and the timing among the paws at various velocities.
Several systems perform gait analysis in animals and provide some degree of lameness detection and evaluation, whether directly or through clinician interpretation. One such system employs a relatively short over-the-ground pad. A drawback of such a system is that it collects a limited number of paw prints based on the speed of the animal and the animal's overall size, thereby requiring multiple passes over the pad in order to collect enough data for the evaluation of the animal. These passes may not include complete consecutive gait cycles. Specifically, it is well documented that even a single gait cycle collected only once is not adequate to accurately determine a degree of lameness for both primary and secondary lameness in animals.
Another system uses a longer walkway (e.g., 16 feet-26 feet) to capture a minimum of three consecutive gait cycles. This system provides an adequate number of gait cycles to determine both primary and secondary lameness. However, a drawback of such a system is the space required to layout the walkway and the difficulty in collecting data over the longer walkway at a consistent velocity.
While 3D video systems that use markers can be employed to detect lameness, such video systems are capable of producing accurate results only if lameness in the animals is visually identifiable. However, animals (especially dogs) are masters at compensation that makes lameness detection problematical even using the 3D video systems with markers. Moreover, the time and space requirements associated with use of such systems in clinical settings present additional drawbacks.
Other devices, such as force plates and static pressure reading devices for lameness detection are well known. Force plates require elaborate test methods to identify which paw is being measured and do not collect complete gait cycles. Static devices are unable perform dynamic analysis that is required for primary and secondary lameness detection in individual animals.
The foregoing systems and devices are generally not capable of producing accurate scoring to allow objective evaluation and reporting of the degree of lameness and to enable the tracking of changes during and following treatment of the animals.